Easel



,Jan. 19.1932. R. BRUNSWICK EAvSEL Filed April 4, 1951 Patented Jan. 19,1932 UNITED STATES PATENT orifice RAYMOND BRUNSWICK, 0F PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 M. RICE C0.,

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CORPORATION OF FENNSYLVANIA EASEL .Application led April 4,

This invention relates to florists easels and has for its primary objectthe provision of a simple easel that can be manufactured at low cost andwill support a wreath firmly so as to prevent it from swaying in thewind. n

Another object of the invention is to provide a stand that willpositively support the wreath at any desired angle while avoiding thedanger of the easel folding up or collapsing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wreath stand that willpermit the use of a smaller size easel than is now pos sible as my standholds the wreath considerably higher than one of the usual stands ofexactlythe same size.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wreath stand inwhich the legs and the fork are rigidly secured together, preferablybeing integral.

An important feature of my invention concerns the formation of theseveral wire members of the stand in such fashion as to permit a greaternumber of easels being packed in a box of given dimensions for my wreathstand is of less collapsed thickness than the usual stands.

There is on the market at present a wreath stand or florists easel whichis made of two pieces of stif wire bent and hinged together to form atripod just below the top of which is provided a single hook forsupporting the wreath in front of two of the tripod legs. Somedisadvantages of this device are that it is troublesome to manipulate;it will stand with firmness in only one position for if placed in anyother position it will fold up and fall over; it allows a Wreath to swayin the wind about its single hook support and it is relatively expensiveto manufacture since in addition to the rear leg and the bowed pieceforming the two front legs, at least three smaller pieces of wire mustbe used to hold the legs, the hinge, and the hook in proper relation.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front View of the easel in use.

Figure :2 is a side view of the easel as 1931. Serial No. 527,823.

manufactured and shipped, that is before bending for use.

Figure 3 is a section thru the neck.

Y Figure 4i shows a modification.

In the preferred form of my device illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 theeasel consists of only four parts, two of which are identical, these twoportions being the wires which form the front legs and the prongs. Thethird member of the easel is the rear leg which may be of greater lengththan the front legs as in Figure it, but preferably is slightly shorteras in Figure 1. The fourth member of the group is a short cross-piece orstrut serving to position and strengthen the two front legs.

The two front leg members are identical, the mid portions 10 touchingeach other in parallel relation and diverging at the point 11 to formthe front leg portions 12, the preferred angle being about 30. Above theneck or mid portion these two wires separate from the point 14 formingoppositely directed horizontal portions 15 preferably alined. The endsof these two horizontal portions 15 may be sharpened to form prongs butI prefer to bend each horizontal portion at right angles eitherforwardly or backwardly or, better still, vertically upward as at 17.l/Vhile not necessary I much prefer that the prong ends be sharpened bya double bevel. The lower ends 19 of the leg portions 12 will also bemade sharp but in this case I preferably make the penetrating end by asingle slanting cut, this being just as efficient and a bit cheaper,economy of manufacture being a quite important point.

The third leg member consists vof a horizontal neck member 2O and anintegral rear leg 21. The portion 20 is of practically the same lengthas the neck portions 10 of the front leg wires as in Figure 1 or, asshown in Figure 4, this rear member can extend considerably above theneck portion forming a prong 22 which, while it may be straight, ispreferably of wavy form as shown as I find that the placing in thissingle prong of a plurality of bends makes the prong more serviceablefor particular styles of wreaths. In Figure 4 the two front leg membersend as at 22:5 at the top ot the neck which consists of the threeparallel wires and in this case the horizontal portions and the upwardlydirected portions 17 are omitted by preference altho it desired allthree prongs can be used.

lhe three parallel portions l0, l0, and 20 are not only parallel but inclose engagement with each other and are held in such position in somesecure fashion7 my preference being to spot weld these members asindicated at and 2G. The front cross piece 27, which is a simplehorizontal strut, is spot welded or other iso secured to each front legas at 28, this cross bar beinO' placed either in front of the two legsas in l* igure l, or behind the two legs as in Figure 2. Each Yformhas-advantages, the placing ot' the Cross piece in front reducingslightly the packed thickness or the easel while the rear placing ot thecross piece or strut simpliies the spot welding of the stand. A featureof particular merit of. the present invention is the format-ion of theelements in such a way that the manufacturing` cost and the packeddimensions are lessened.

My preferred .method ot making` the easel to cut wire of a singlediameter into great number of the three lengths required, and then bendall the longer pieces, which will be twice as great in number as the twoshorter pieces, to torni the front legs, necks and prongs. All the bendsof these pieces are in a single plane so that these front leg portionswill lie flat upon the work table. Two of these are laid side by sidefacing in opposite directions. rlhe rear leg piece is not bent in anyway but is laid on top ot and in engagement with both of the neckportions. l/Vhile so held with the three neck portions contactingthruout their ent-ire length, the wires are spot welded together at thetwo points such as 25 and 26. The nearly completed easel is now turnedover and the horizontal cross piece 27 spot welded in place as at 29.

The easel is shipped in this condition and is ready for use by the merebending at 30 ot the straight rear leg. The amount ot bending isdetermined by the user who selects any angle whatsoever he wishes forthe display of the flowers. ln all other devices with which l amfamiliar the angle is predetermined but in my device the angle can beanything from a very upright easel to an eX- tremely slanting one and inwhatever position the wreath is positioned the easel maintains itsposition positively and there is no possibility whatsoever of itscollapsing in use as was a frequent occurrence in the old hinged type.

To place a wreath on the stand, the wreath, it the prong ends areoppositely disposed and horizontal,` is first inserted on one prong,pushed to its limit, then caught by the other prong and finally moved tomid position.

While this is satistactory for some kinds oi wreath, I much prefer thetype shown in Figure l and in this torm the wreath is simply pushedgently downward on the two pronged ends 1,8 simultaneously but thewreath should be pushed down a suiiicient amount to make a tirm holdwhich not only maintains the wreath on the stand but prevents theflowers from swinging around to di tlerent angles as in former devices.

lVhat l claim is:

l. A florists easel comprising a plurality of spread legs meeting attheir tops and merging into a single stem, a pair ot said legscontinuing thru said stem and forming a two pronged fork thereabove.

2. The device of claim l in` which the prongs, the neck and said twolegs are in one plane.

3. rllhe device ot claim l in which the legs are three in number, two ofsaid legs, the stem and the prongs lying in one plane and the third legis of bendable material at its junction with the neck whereby the anglewhich said plane makes with a supporting sui-tace may be positivelyvaried by bending said leg.

4. The device of claim l consisting oi' three pieces of wirerod of whichthe top portions oil two are bent to torni the said two prongs and thelower portions form the two legs and being welded at the intermediateportions to the top portion of a third piece of wire rod to form thestem, the lower part ot said third piece forming the third leg ot saidtripod.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

RAYMOND BRUNSWICK.

